THOUGHTS ON THE MOVE TO MELBOURNE

A few months ago I posted on the blog my reasons for moving to Melbourne. Well that post has since become Hayley on Holiday’s most viewed story. So since I have been living here for two months now, I thought I would do a follow-up. Here’s how the move to Melbourne has been, so far.

SIX MONTHS IN MELBOURNE

FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY

People aren’t kidding when they say Melbourne has four seasons in one day. I mean, I can sit at my desk and see it be sunny in the morning, raining and cloudy by the afternoon but sunny again before the day ends. Melbourne weather is unpredictable. But when it is sunny, man is it a beautiful place to live. It’s similar to Canada too, in that even in winter when the sun is out so are the people. It’s one of the things I remember most about my time in Vancouver – how everyone made the most of the sun and the outdoors on beautiful days.

SO MUCH TO SEE, EAT AND DO

Seriously, I am currently compiling a bucket list of everything I do want to see/eat/experience in Melbourne and it is LONG. Every time I scroll through Instagram I find another restaurant, cafe or bar to add to the list. I am excited to eat my way around the city, just like I did in Vancouver. There are also other suburbs I am yet to wander, street art I am yet to find and other activities I am yet to do. Lucky I have no deadline in my new home to see and do it all.

TRAVEL MADE EASY

Since I have been living in Melbourne I have travelled north to the Sunshine Coast for a wedding and south to Tasmania for a midweek break in Hobart. Everywhere in Australia seems so accessible now, especially because I live very close to Southern Cross Station. This means I can catch a certain Skybus with ease. Yep, I’m now that person who is signed up to receive emails about specials from Virgin, Tigerair and Jetstar (Check out Webjet too, which is basically Australia’s Skyscanner). I’m heading home in August, because I got a return fare for $170, which is crazy. I also discovered today that Jetstar flies direct from Melbourne to Singapore. Country 26 perhaps?

SLOWLY MEETING PEOPLE

Before moving to Melbourne, I was at home on Magnetic Island and didn’t really socialise with anyone other than my family and their friends (lucky they are awesome). When I moved to Melbourne, the people I knew could be counted on one hand. This didn’t matter much to me as I had moved to Vancouver knowing even less people (a.k.a none). But since being here I have tried to get out and meet new people and grow my very small social circle. I visited Hobart with a friend, met up with an awesome fellow travel blogger and I have start attending some Meetup events. I am an absolute introvert, so attending Meetups is a big deal for me. But everyone is there for the same reasons — to meet like-minded people. I can’t recommend the website enough.

I LOVE WHERE I LIVE

Before moving to Melbourne, I spent some time browsing websites such as Gumtree and Flatmates to see if there was someone advertising for a room to rent around April. I was fortunate to find a room in an apartment building in Docklands, which is just south of Melbourne’s CBD. It’s such a fantastic location as you are walking distance to the city, outlet shopping centres (plural, which is dangerous), a train station and a tram stop is two minutes away. Docklands is also classified as in the free tram zone, which means I can travel all around the city centre for free. It’s in a very convenient position for car-less me and the views aren’t horrible, either. How nice it is to just step out of the apartment and go for a walk along the Yarra River.

CAREER PROGRESSION – AN UPDATE

One of the things I listed in my previous post was the career progression I hoped to have in Melbourne. So far I am writing for the same clients I was at home. I have been looking for new opportunities, but patience seems to be key in the freelance business. Melbourne-related, I am writing for a local food blog called Feast Melbourne, but that is it so far. But the move has allowed me to add a new dynamic to blog content, which is always good.

Besides from the writing, trying to find a casual/part-time position to help boost the funds was not easy. I must have applied for nearly 70 jobs before I finally found the right match: working casually across Etihad Stadium and Melbourne and Olympic Parks. Patience, again.

THE ONE NEGATIVE

My only downside, and I am unsure if this is Melbourne’s fault or just my rotten luck, but for the past month I have been sick. First it was a sore throat that saw me bedridden for an entire weekend. I thought I had fought it off, but then about a week later I started coughing all the time and couldn’t stop. This has gone on for nearly two weeks and as you can imagine, I’m over it. I never got this sick in Canada and it is obviously much colder there, but perhaps my immune system is just a little weak now? Sigh.

MELBOURNE, I LOVE YOU

As you can tell, other than my immune system hating on me, the move to Melbourne has definitely been a good choice. I love the city life, the endless options and the place I call home. I am a wanderer, so being in one place with no travels on the horizon is hard for me. But right now I am settling on always having a plane ticket booked for interstate travel. I hope to get to Adelaide before the end of the year so I can officially say I have visited every Australian state and territory.

For others wondering whether moving to Melbourne is the right idea, I say yes! It has everything you would want and need in a city. I feel like this was the right choice for me as this point in my life. Although I have dreams of living the expat life again, I am happy with where I am right this moment. How about you?

Any recommendations for MORE things to add to my Melbourne bucket list are very welcome!

Like this:

Related

WELCOME

Hello! I'm Hayley, a freelance writer, barista and blogger based in Melbourne. This is where I share stories about my former expat life in Canada, my solo travels around the world, and my addiction to books & TV. Welcome! I hope you'll stay awhile. Read More...